Not sure there's much you can contribute to in Brunei when there is no platform or foundation set up to leverage on such expertise. Pretty much everything is outsourced to low cost centres like India these days. This means competing globally will also be challenging because there are millions of Indians hungry for any job for peanuts because peanuts still get them very far in India. Mind you, they are also known to be very IT savvy.

Engineering is oversaturated in Brunei. Dont take it just for the sake of it. Unless you are passionate about the subject, then by all means go for it (but this is rarely the case tbh)

If you wanna talk further DM me, we can discuss in more details.

1. Do good at what you do

2. Network. Expand your circle.

3. Invest in yourself. Going outside will not be cheap so start saving now

Hi, first of all, help and support you and your family first. after you are stable then you can think of ways to contribute to the country.

Stay hungry, stay foolish

Computer engineering normally work in R&D department specifically dealing with some sort of hardware. It can also be from a company using embedded program like vending machine or company needed that low latency / security for like health devices.

Those things rarely exist in Brunei and even the computer science graduates are finding hard to get a decent job that dont pay low salary below $3k assuming you are competent.

The IT sector here are seriously not appreciated at all but have no problem to outsource projects worth hundreds of thousand even up to millions. Even some religious people earn more while not generating any revenue. What a time to live in.

If you can then expand your skill on other domain (web, mobile, desktop, security, etc.) and find job outside. Only work in Brunei if you have a passion to improve things here or you find a place that appreciate you work and salary wise.

Actually any further education is good. Id suggest you getting the degree in something you have interest in and work outside to gain experience and credibility. Then if you feel like its enough barutah you come back and bring your experience with you to “elevate” this country.

Although this is easier said than done but I think this is great way to elevate your chances in getting better job opportunities. Try finding internships with big companies or corporations while studying. Most of them want “street smart” people rather than “book smart” but its nice if you can be both.

Just my thoughts.

Ikigai, my friend.

Currently, the most sought-after competencies on a global scale are those of architects, engineers, and IT professionals. The only questions that remain are when and how you will accomplish this.

I don’t have a computer engineering degree, but a lot of my colleagues do.

In casual chats with them with me trying to understand the differences between computer engineering and computer science, I’ve learnt that computer engineers primarily write code in order to control hardware, or code at the interface point between hardware and software.

If you think about it, pretty much every imaginable machine–washing machines, fridges, TVs, the brakes in your car, the motors for a train, a computer mouse, air-cons, lighting, USB charger, any kind of robot, any telecommunication device, any kind of lithium battery, all the devices on the grid–these days has a mini-computer or controller inside. It’s these mini-computers or controllers which computer engineers write code for. This kind of code is often (although not always), written in a lower level language, usually with a lot more constraints on processing/memory/storage and the consequences of getting code wrong can lead to stuff physically breaking, so efficiency and avoiding bugs is critical.

Computer scientists on the other hand, mainly write code to run on top of other software. Think applications or databases.

There is a global shortage of computer engineers (since computer science is the cool kid on the block), but not in Brunei. Computer engineers are typically needed where stuff with electricity going through it, is being designed, tested and manufactured.

My two cents.